Electric water heater



M. w. HORNSBY.

ELECTRIC WATER HEATER.

APPLTCATION FILED FEB.19,1921.

1,429,735. I PatentedSept. 19, 1922,

ATTORNEY Patented SeptQ19, 1922.

" Unirse Mosns vv.l HonNsBY, orfNnWYol-K, li. Y., assiettes ro safrfrnny coivrrany, 1nd, lor New ORLEANS, Louisiana, a CORPORATION `or Louisiana. f

r Artnr o SQ'THERN ELECTROL'Y'TE ntnc'rniojwafrnn' HEATER;

` ,A`pp1iqatio;1 inea rebrtary 19, 1921. serial Nol 446,353.

To all whom t 'may concern.'

Be it known that I, vMosns W. HonNsnY, a citizen or". the vUnited States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and Stateof New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Electric jl/Vater Heaters, of which the following is a specication. l 4' The present invention relates to an apparatus for electrically heatingfwaterin a continuous and very rapid manner. 'The tem` perature oi' the latter' may be as high as that of boiling water without the necessity of changing the intensity or' the current,` but simply by regulating the charge; the principal feature ot the apparatus is that the circuit is closed only when the water passes through it, so that it may remain per! manently connected, the current passing through only when water supplied from any suitable source passes through it. The apparatus acts as a liquid rheostat, the liquid in this case being Water.

The apparatus, which in the small sizes, is portable may be adapted to ordinary water supply faucets by means ot' suitable fittings.

In said iigures: y

Figure 1 is an elevation partly in section of the front part 'of the apparatus.

"Figure 2 is a transverse section of the complete apparatus.

Figure 3 is an elevation of the elements forming the heater.

Figure 4 is a perspective view on a larger scale of the heater and its protective covering.

Figure 5 is a view of the conductors of current tted to the exterior of the cells composing the liquid heater.

The apparatus comprises essentially the following parts:

A metal piece ot rectangular shape 1 receives the water to be heated through a tube 6, which communicates with a small cylindrical reservoir 5 having an aperture in its center at 4. The whole is mounted on a suitable support 3, which may be connected to any faucet by means of a binding screw 3 and suitable clasps; a tight joint is obtained by means of a rubber washer 5 ar.

ranged on top of the reservoir '5; a binding screw 52 permits of tightening the washer against the faucet.`

1 i l, .Said metal piece 1 iscovered by an .elcctrically insulated Ametal cover 'i'. ln`` the space `formed bysaid cover is arranged the heating element `with its connections.

1n the torni shown this element is composed koi? a series of small rectangular plates 13 o1 suitable material, and lseparated by an insulating rubber joint of very slight thickness. Two of they plates are provided with holes 14C, 14 at the top and bottomi when the plates are screwed against one another and against the piece 1, these holes coincide with the holes 15, 15 provided .in said piece. The rectangular joints applied against the small plates leave a small cell 8 between the latter permitting the water to circulate in the form of a very line sheet; the cell is shown in dotted lines in Figure 3. The distance between the vplates in Figure 2 has been exaggerated to make the drawing clear.

Piece 1 is furthermore provided at the top with a water outlet tube 2. fl/Vhen the apparatus is connected to a faucet and the water admitted, the latter enters through the tube 6 and passes through the tube 2 after having passed through the cells.

The conductors numbering in this case three are fitted on three of the sides et the rectangle; said conductors are composed oi' copper or other metal` wires and are forkshaped as indicated in Figure 5j vThe number being three, the two ends are connected with each `other as shown in Figure l1; the two connected conductors being shown at 9 and the sole conductor at 10. The vertical ends of these conductors penetrate into the contacts 9 andi() mounted on a piece of insulating material 11 and held in place by the cover 7 The plates and their conductors are surrounded by a protective insulator and water prooi covering 7. To prevent leakage a tight joint is obtained between the holes 1.4L and 15 by means of suitable rubber washers. The tightening of the elements is obtained by means of binding screws 12, 12, Figure 2 acting upon small fiber bars .16, 16.`

The operation is extremely simple,

Supposing the apparatus to be connected to a faucet and its contacts connected to an electrical source in the usual. manner, the current Will pass only When the Water circulates by reason oi" the arrangement oi the conductors.

By reason of this Construction the temperature of the Water may be easily regulated simply by regulating the charge. lith a slight charge the Water Will be brought to boiling, While with a greater charge warm or tepid Water only Will be Obtained. Although the current passes only when the water is admitted, it is always preferable to cut oif the current when the apparatus not in use.

It Will be obvious to anyone technically trained that considerable modifications in the :form of the apparatus may be introduced Without in any Way changing the spirit of the invention. The manner of con* necting the apparatus to a Water supply for example may vary considerably as the case may be and this applies also to the apparatus when instead of being portable as in the Case described, they are stationary and oi large capacity.

What is claimed is:

An electric Water heater embodying an electrode included in a normally opened circuit, and comprising a plurality ol' carbon elements of elongated contour, and a plurality of insulating members arranged between the carbon element and spacing the latter, said carbon elements having alined openings adjacent the ends thereof", said insulating members having longitudinal slots deiining channels between the carbon elements, said channels communicating through said openings alternately from the bottom and top of the electrode, a protective covering for said electrode, an elongated receptacle at one side thereof having a water inlet and Water outlet, said Water admitted to the electrode completing the circuit when bridging the space between the carbon ele ments.

In testimony whereof I hereby aliix my signature.

M. W. HORNSBY. 

